Device and arrangement for fixture installation

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/172,291 filed on Jun. 30, 2005, which is a continuation of International Application PCT/SE2003/001975, with an international filing date of Dec. 17, 2003, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Swedish Patent Application No. SE 0203898-2, filed Dec. 30, 2002, the entire contents of each of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device and arrangement for installation of a fixture in a jaw bone. The invention also relates to an arrangement for installation of two or more fixtures which can be installed in the jaw bone in a corresponding manner.

2. Description of the Related Art and Summary of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention re intended to be used in, among other things, the arrangement sold by Nobel Biocare AB for ARK operations (Absolute Rehabilitation Kit). Reference is made, inter alia, to the PCT applications WO 02/053055 A1, WO 02/053056 A1 and WO 02/053057 A1 filed by the same Applicant and with the same inventor as for the present patent application.

It is already known, in existing installation arrangements, to use a device which functions as a separate unit and by means of which the fixtures are applied in their necessary and correct positions in the vertical direction and the transverse directions (tilt direction). In installation work performed by practiced doctors, it sometimes happens that the separate device is not used, which means there is a risk that the necessarily precise positions of the fixtures in the jaw bone will not be obtained. Without using the separate device (fixture guide), the fixtures can easily end up in positions which are too deep, with the result that the produced bridge which is to be applied to the fixtures does not fit them. It is also easy for the fixtures to be pulled obliquely, for example if the bone structure in the formed hole does not have the same density throughout. This too can result in poor or impossible fitting of the dental bridge which is to be installed. Embodiments of the present invention aim to solve these problems inter alia.

In fixture installations using previously known auxiliary devices, problems can also arise if the installation work is drawn out over time. The known separate device has an application and function which mean that the previously used fixture holder must first be removed before the necessary removal of the separate device could take place. Given said time consideration, this means that soft tissue parts of the jaw bone can start to grow over the implant in a relatively short time, so that these become difficult to identify in the subsequent bridge installation work. Embodiments of the invention also solve this problem.

Embodiments of the present invention comprise a device mentioned at the outset is that an element or elements is or are arranged on the fixture holder itself. In a preferred embodiment, there is a first element in the form of an outwardly protruding stop member which, when the fixture is at its defined position in the vertical direction, can be applied against a top surface of the guide member of the template. The stop member can have the form of an outwardly protruding flange. In one embodiment, the fixture holder can have a part which protrudes above the template and guide member, and by means of which or via which the fixture and the fixture holder are held together by a screw in a rotatable manner. A second element can be in the form of a part having an outer surface arranged to cooperate with an opposite inner surface of the guide member in order to define the transverse position of the fixture. The compulsory application of the fixture holder in the fixture installation in this way guarantees the precisely defined positions of the fixture in the vertical and transverse directions in the jaw bone. The fixture can also be designed so that, in the position in which it gives the fixture defined positions in the vertical and transverse directions, it can be left there for a time preventing jaw bone, for example the soft tissue of the jaw bone, from growing over what would otherwise be an exposed fixture end.

In another embodiment of the present invention, an arrangement of the type mentioned at the outset includes fixture holders for two or more fixtures each have their own element or elements.

Further embodiments of the present invention are set out in the attached dependent claims which refer back to the independent arrangement claim.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a fixture holder designed to cooperate with a guide member forming part of a template, via which guide member the fixture can be applied in its position in the jaw bone with the aid of the fixture holder. The arrangement is also provided with one or more elements which, with the aid of the guide member, ensure defined positions of the fixture in the vertical and transverse directions.

By what has been proposed above, the aforementioned problems are given technically simple solutions which exclude the omission of the necessary functions of vertical and transverse direction determination. The new components can easily be incorporated in the already existing techniques, thus avoiding reconfiguration and extra costs.

For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Presently proposed embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section through a fixture applied in a jaw bone with the aid of a fixture holder which has members for defining the position of the fixture in the vertical and transverse directions.

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Dental filing tool
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